Advise planning a trip to Italy

1.
Posted bysfrx(Budding Member 10 posts) 13y
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My 2 dear friends are going on their honeymoon to Italy. They are quite busy and I volunteered to plan their trip. I have never been to Italy. Here are the details:Date: July 22 to August 8th Will start in Milan and end in Rome.They would like to visit the following cities:Milan, Turin, Venice, Assisi, Florence, Naples, Sardinia, Capri and Rome of course.Would you suggest any other stops?How many days would be reccommended for each stop.They are young and are on a budget and would like to drive. But I wonder if train travel will be cheaper? A rail pass perhaps (they are not european)Should they make hotel reservations or is it fairly easy to get lodging? I think it would be nice if they had a general itinerary and were flexible, is that possible at this time of the year?

I truly appreciate any help you can give I want them to have amost wonderful time

2.
Posted bybeppe(Full Member 144 posts) 13y
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Ok for train you have to che the following link :

http://www.trenitalia.com/home/en/index.html

Concerning places to visit i suggest you to visit Milano and move to Venezia frome there the could go to Florence (they could stop also to Bologna as a beautiful medieval centre, and they cross it going from venice to florence) from florence they could go to Livorno by train and take the boat to Olbia (sardinia) http://www.moby.it/mds/mws/home.xpd?language_id=enThey can go around and take the boat back to Civitavecchia that is close to Roma and Move to Roma From there they could go to Naples Capri and coming back or going to Perugia that is close to Assisi and is really a beautiful town and going back to Roma.

If they want to go also to Torino theyhave to go fromMilano and then going back

I suggest you to visit also Paestum and Pompei that are close to Napoli

Beppe

3.
Posted bydaveh(Travel Guru 1027 posts) 13y
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I have been to Milan, Venice, Turin and Naples. The route suggested by Beppe sounds like a really well balanced trip. My advice is not to bother with Turin and concentrate on the other places as i don't think Turin has much to offer compared to some of the other Italian cities. Just a personal view, others might disagree.

attention !august is the traveling-high-season in italy . as well for the italians and foreigners who visit italy !!!during this month reservation must be made in any touristic region ( venice , florence-tuscany , capri etc. ) .an for a honeymoon i would say there's a lot of big ciry in the programme ? ! ? from milano ( where 1 full day would do ) they should better visit the romantic small city of sirmione ( on the lake of garda ) in stead of turin on their way to venice if they go by car as i would recommand .from tourist-hectic-venice they should make a half-day-trip by boat to near chioggia and walk along the canal there . that's real italy . if the go from florence by car to rome , they should stop at perugia and/or the wonderfull old ( up-hill-part-of )the city of orvieto .beautifull duomo there and nice good restaurants and good orvieto-classico--white-wine . congratulations to them and hope they have fun !henk .

5.
Posted bysfrx(Budding Member 10 posts) 13y
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This is so exciting. Thank you very much for the input. I will use the information given!!

6.
Posted byJessicaca(Budding Member 11 posts) 13y
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Definately hit Siena on the way! It's a small medieval town that is charming and perfect for two newly weds. Very romantic. Lots of great little b&bs to stay in and it's also the chianti region of Italy so the wine is amazing!

7.
Posted byspalla(Budding Member 12 posts) 13y
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I would skip Turin, it is not one of the must see city in italy. It is nice but there are places that i think are better. I would suggest Verona. It is a very nice city and it is between Milan and Venice so they don't have to go out of their way. In Sardinia the nicest part is the one near the Maddalena Arcipelagus (north east) the beaches are amazing, the sea is incredible. Another pretty town in Sardinia is Alghero but i'm not sure they will have time to go all the way there, it seems that they have a prety busy itineray already.Check out some pics i took in the following link they might inspire you:

Capri was absolutely beautiful--but one day is fine. It is tiny and easy to get around by bus once you are on the island. The good shopping is at the top of the island. Don't miss their beautiful garden, also at the top.

They can catch a ferry from Amalfi or Positano, however if the water is too rough they may not be able to be dropped back off at Positano, and will have to return to Amalfi. There is a tour that takes you to swim by the famous rocks, or you can just swim at the beach---you can get a ferry with or without a tour. Once on the island the main benefit of the paid tour is that you don't have to wait in line for busses, but you don't need one to find your way around the tiny island.

If they have an extra day in Amalfi, suggest they catch a bus to Ravelo. Gorgeous little artist colony up the mountain from the town of Amalfi. Amalfi itself is a great place to stay for a few days--they have a little beach, great shopping, and a beautiful church with breath-taking marble columns in the crypt. It is a great launching point to various sites like Paestum and Pompei. The local buses are convenient and inexpensive, though sometimes on strike.

Naples had a couple of cool castles, but I would skip that in favor of sites along the Amalfi coast. Best of luck to them!

PS If they tend to get seasick, have them stay on the first level of the ferry to Capri, no matter how tempting the view up top. I must say it was quite a surprise when people all around us started getting sick--the crew was prepared with bags but even in the open air the sounds and smells were enough to make us wish we were downstairs!

10.
Posted bymi789(Budding Member 3 posts) 13y
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Pompeii is definitely worth the visit if they will be in the naples area - also instead of capri they might want to opt for the less-touristy but equally beautiful island of ischia, there is cheap accomodation and loads of spas to take advantage of.

Siena is definitely a place to stop and san gimignano is a beautiful town in Tuscany that would be a great stop for lunch while driving along. It is called the town of one hundred towers and it certainly lives up to its name, the view from the towers is all vineyards as far as the eye can see, spectacular for a honeymoon.

I wouldn't spend too much time in the big cities, they are very hot in august and milan is not worth more than a day.